CSL 2013--Week 8

[Rocket Robin]

Result and details of the Sunday June 23, 2013 CSL game

between Toronto Croatia and St Catharines Roma Wolves

played at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke at 8:00pm.

53 min...TC Kresimir Prgomet GOAL...TC Hayden Fitzwiliams

gets high pass at 35 yards between two defenders and rolls

pass left to Prgomet who shoots low 12 yarder from left

into right corner of net over diving goalie Chris Kurdziel.

69 min...TC Daniel Niksic GOAL...A TC player's cornerkick

from the left has the ball headed across the box from the

left. A TC player had a shot from the right that was

blocked by a defender and the ball deflected out for

Niksic to shoot a low 10 yarder into the right side

of the net.

85 min...TC Kresimic Prgomet GOAL...TC David Alva pushes

pass forward up middle from 30 yards and Prgomet gets

in open and he takes a low 15 yard shot past the charging

goalie to the right side of net.

Final Score:.....Toronto Croatia........3........

St Catharines Wolves.........0............

Attendance was about 80 on this hot and humid night

with the setting sun only being a factor for the first

20 minutes.

Antonio Ilic earned the shutout for Croatia making a

few good saves but was otherwise well protected by

the defence of Halburto Harris, Sven Arapovic, Josip

Keran, and Ainsley Deer. Harris and Deer also joined

the attacks down the wing. Arapovic acted as captain

tonight for the vacationing Tihomir Maletic. This

has happened in previous years. Hard to say if Maletic's

presence would have put the game away earlier.

Referee Michael Stenbring gave out five Yellow cards

(three to Croatia) that I counted in a game that

wasn't really rough at all. 89th minute had the most

dangerous play when young substitute Nikola Brtan

who'd only been on for 4 minutes first touched a ball

too far forward and the goalie ran forward and to smother

the ball but rather than jump over him as it was easy

to see that the goalie would get to it first, Brtan

slid in like a baseball player stealing second base

and with spikes up tore into Chris Kurdziel injurying

him in the arm. This resulted in a dust-up between the

two teams. Brtan drew a Yellow but David Fimiak

a Wolves defender also drew a Yellow for his part

in the pushing match. That's the major reason the game

was not called until '00:38' (100.38 min). I'd

forgotten the scoreboard would do that but should

have remembered 120 minute playoff games.

Best non-scoring chances in the game were at 7 minutes

when TC Mladen Bajamic crossed from 12 yards along the

right end line and TC Hayden Fitzwilliams shot a

one-touch from 8 yards that the sprawling goalie

gets a hand to and pushed away. 29 minutes had W Calvin

Rosario take a cornerkick that W Camilo Veloza had

a close in chance. The same minute TC Robert Galle

received a pass up the middle and his 22 yard shot had

the goalie block and Galle then rounded the goalie

on the left his 6 yard tap-in was deflected for a

cornerkick by the sliding W Nicholas Vecchi. TC David

Alva's resulting cornerkick from the left had TC Josip

Keran head a 10 yarder on the right that the goalie

caught. 42 minutes had TC Fitzwilliams in the clear shoot

a 15 yarder from the right that the diving goalie partially

stopped and the ball rolled just wide of the right post.

50 minutes had TC Fitzwilliams cross from 30 yards on the

right though players and TC Kresimir Prgomet at 10 yards

shoots wide left of top left corner of net.

Toronto Croatia's win means their record improves to

5 wins, 0 ties, 1 loss. Because of not playing as many

games as some other teams they are in 3rd place. 16 goals

for and only 4 against (stingiest defence in the league).

Wolves won their opening game of the season right here

at this stadium on May 24th when they beat Serbian

White Eagles but have now lost their three games

since then.

Rocket Robin

robing@eol.ca

[Rocket Robin]

Lineups and pictures from that game:

http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports13/13csl037.htm